Medical tourism can be broadly defined as provision of ‘cost effective’ private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry for patients needing surgical and other forms of specialized treatment.

Surrogacy

Women with severe defects or damage to the uterus cannot conceive. However they can have their biological child by undergoing ovarian stimulation, harvesting their eggs, fertilizing them with their husband's sperms and transferring the resulting embryos into another woman's uterus. This person carries the pregnancy till term and delivers a child biologically belonging to the infertile couple. The child is then legally adopted by the couple as their heir. Indications for surrogacy are:

Medical conditions precluding pregnancy. Medicolegal and social issues need to be resolved

before surrogacy is considered. Maternal child bonding may complicate the outcome. The surrogate mother is medically evaluated and undergoes the same preparatory procedures as in oocyte donation as a recipient of embryo transfer.